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Anya woke up crying.
She had had a nightmare. A very scary one at that. She knew she shouldn't listen to Becky, but that girl just knew how to get to her. Not to mention the antics of the fellow spy who had become too interested in their lives. Or too interested in disrupting their quiet little family, she should say.
Anya shuddered. She rubbed two small fists to her eyes, willing herself to feel better.
Bond, who had been sleeping soundly next to her bed, looked up at her with what seemed like concern. He stood, stretching his furry legs, and nudged her with his cold, wet nose. While it offered her some comfort, it just wasn't enough.
She needed her papa and mama.
—---------------
Loid heard her first. Twilight was a night owl. He often stayed up much past his family's bedtime, reviewing mission progress and analyzing possible outcomes. Nighttime was the only time he really had to himself. As a spy, he had a duty to his mission to plan each excruciatingly small detail.
He had been working with a focus on strategies to help Anya earn stellas when a sound pulled him from his work.
As soon as he recognized Anya's cries, he bolted from his desk chair. An onlooker might say he flew out of his room to his daughter's side, bursting through her door prepared to fight an enemy. He would just as soon tell them it's what a dutiful father would do. All for the mission, of course.
His eyes quickly adjusted to the soft moonlight illuminating his daughter’s bedroom. When he looked around, all he saw was the sniffly form of his daughter and the big fur ball that was their pet dog.
"Borf! Borf!" The dog padded over to him.
"Anya. What's going on? Are you crying?"
"Papa," the little girl cried out, and he rushed to hold her.
"Wha-what happened!?"
Yor had burst in, clutching the hem of her nightgown in one hand and in the other, a…large knitting needle? It seemed Yor had been practicing her homemaker skills late this evening.
"Mama!" The little girl's arms were outstretched for Yor as soon as the woman burst through the doorway in all her protective glory.
As soon as Loid made eye contact with his wife, she tossed the needle into the hall and rushed to Anya's bedside.
"I'm here Miss Anya. I'm here. What's wrong," she asked with all the concern of a doting mother.
—---------------
Yor sat and took her daughter into her arms. She rocked her in her lap, running a hand soothingly up and down her back as the child clutched her.
She didn't know what had happened, but as soon as she heard her daughter cry out for her, she abandoned changing for her assignment and rushed to Anya's room. Poison-laden rondel dagger still in hand. She hoped Loid would not question it after they had soothed their daughter back to sleep.
"There now, Miss Anya," she said after a few quiet moments of rocking her, "Can you tell me what's wrong?"
"Borf," Bond, who had padded back to the bed now, seemed to want an answer too. His wet nose nudged Yor.
Anya looked up tearfully at Yor and clutched her even harder. The assassin looked to her husband for clarity.
He shrugged, "Anya, can you tell us what happened?"
"Mama, don't leave me! Anya doesn’t want you to switch with Papa's friend! Anya doesn't want a new mama," she shouted into Yor's shoulder.
The woman shot a semi-accusing look at her husband over Anya’s head. He wore a confused expression but shook his head. In the next moment, he sat next to her and reached a hand over her shoulder to wipe a tear off of Anya’s cheek.
"I- I'm not going anywhere, Miss Anya. Don't worry!"
"Becky said you're not my real mama, and you can leave when you want. She said only real mamas love you. And Papa's friend thinks she can be my mama. But she can't! She can't be my mama! Mama is my mama!"
"Fiona's not going to be your mama. You had a nightmare, Anya. Your mama is here with you," Loid soothed from over Yor's shoulder. His voice was gentle, words carrying at least some level of genuineness.
The woman felt something twitch in her heart at his reassurance.
"I-is that why you're crying? Did you have a bad dream about getting a new mama," Yor gently asked the little one still cradled in her arms.
Anya nodded her head vigorously.
"Oh, Miss Anya, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. You're not getting a new mama," Yor paused, considering her words, " I am your mama. No one can ever change that. And I…I love you very much ."
She gazed down at the child, who was still sniffling in her arms. Anya looked up at her, green eyes meeting scarlet.
Again, something in Yor's heart twitched to life. The two smiled hopefully at each other.
"Does Mama mean it? Mama won't leave me?"
Her heart began pounding. Yor had never committed herself to a person other than her brother before. When she entered this family, she had not inquired much about Anya's birth mother. She had been too fearful to ask Loid about his first wife, his real wife. She hadn't wanted to pry too much, hadn't wanted to overstep the bounds of the sham they were living.
She had never considered becoming a real mother before, and walking into this contract of sorts to become a fake mother had not phased her. Yor didn't expect to become a real mother. Not ever, really. But for over half a year now, she had been falling easily into motherhood. Each new day with her fake daughter brought her more and more true joy. While she couldn't quite decipher her feelings for her fake husband yet, she knew with certainty that she was no longer a fake mother.
No, she was a real mother with a very real, adorable, energetic, silly, smart, kind, wonderful daughter. She didn't care that she hadn't given birth to Anya or even that she and Loid might not share a real love yet. This sham had given her the privilege of getting to love Anya. She would be forever grateful for it. Her little family had changed her life.
"Oh, Miss Anya," Yor sighed softly, "I am so very lucky because I get to love you. I get to be your mama, and that is just the most wonderful thing in my life. I won't ever leave you. I’m your mama."
And she meant it.
Anya gave her a watery smile; she looked so vulnerable and hopeful at her mama’s words. Yor held Anya just a little tighter then, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, willing her own tears away. She looked quickly at Loid, whose gaze seemed out of focus, and felt another twitch in her heart.
He was a wonderful part of her life too.
—---------------
Loid felt his chest tighten as Yor spoke such sweet words to their daughter. He knew the two loved each other so strongly. In fact, he was glad they cared so deeply. It was good for the mission.
Truly, he could not have made a better choice for his fake family. They all seemed to have settled into a comfortable coexistence with one another. Their family unit was a mutually beneficial arrangement and each day truly taught him something new. It was encouraging to hear Yor tell Anya she loved her. He could see it in Anya’s eyes that she adored the woman she called mama too. The problem was that he…
He couldn't admit that he, too, had fallen in love with fatherhood. With being Anya's father . That little girl had quickly awakened a dormant part of himself, perhaps even a fundamental part of himself, that felt a delighted thrill at raising and caring for a child. Now was not the time to say that, though.
He gazed at his wife and child as they held each other, Yor softly humming a song for Anya.
He felt dizzy.
Twilight was fighting the urge to acknowledge, admit to himself… to say aloud that he had begun to recognize that he may have quite possibly…fallen in love with his wife.
Would that be good for the mission?
—---------------
Anya’s eyes jumped sleepily between her mama and papa.
She had been too emotional and affected by her nightmare to read their minds earlier. Now that she was reassured and safe in her mama's arms, she was more actively listening to her parents' thoughts. They both really loved her; they just struggled to say it. She could work with that. As long as her happy home stayed intact. And oh, was she just so glad that she had finally found a safe home.
Now...if she could just get her mama and papa to admit to loving each other too.
As she listened to her mama’s melodic humming, Anya felt her eyes droop slowly closed. She did not fight it; she knew all was well now.
Just before sleep completely overtook her, she felt her mama press a kiss to her forehead and say, “Goodnight Miss Anya. Mama loves you.”
Anya wasn’t sure if her mama had said it out loud or simply thought it, but she knew that she meant it.